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When I landed on Bishop 13, one of the manmade moons of Mars and therefore Corporation property and under strict Corp laws, I was prepared for all the usual bribes and red tape that means. I had the bribe credits ready, all my paperwork up to date and in order, and my ship in pretty good condition, which is to say, meeting all the absolute minimum requirements to dock on the tiny satellite.

Constant Sterry rode almost doubled over the neck of his horse, his fists clutching leather reins and his cheek continually brushed by the feather-touch of the mane. Slowly and steadily the horse bore him through the woods, for the pain in Constant’s gut grew insupportable with the jostling of anything more than a walk.

Come in, come in, and welcome! See something you like? Looking for anything in particular? Oh, no problem, no problem. Just look, and let me know if I can help with anything.

Yes, that is a fine piece. Retrieved and fixed that one up myself. Yes, I do my own work. Learned the trade from my father and he from his father before him. That’s right. Sort of a hereditary business. My boy’s not really interested, but my daughter—she’s only seven—she seems to have the interest and, what is more, the gift. It isn’t everybody who can spot shattered hopes and scattered dreams and tell the worthwhile ones from the flotsam, but she has got a promising eye.

1 Comment on Free SF, Fantasy and Horror Fiction for 9/21/2013

In the audio line, the most recent BBC Drama of the Week, “Exuberant”, may be of associational interest. “Exuberant” is about a pair of rival meteorite hunters, both semi-deranged by their obsession; quite funny. The BBC Dramas of the week are only available for one week, but “Exuberant” still has five days of availability left.

Recognition

TSP On This Day

Audio: @Audible.com: Ringworld by Larry Niven [via SFFAudio]@Starship Sofa: "Lord Dickens's Declaration" by Lawrence Santoro (This is also available as an eBook, the proceeds from which will go to Spider and Jeanne Robinson as they struggle with Jeanne's illness.)@Beware the Hairy Mango: "The Creepy Little Mailbox Man" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.@Dunesteef: "Page 67: Final Exam" by Edward McKeown.@Podcastle: "Superhero Girl" Continue Reading →

SF Author and Physics professor Gregory Benford has entered the world of blogging with Benford & Rose which he co-authors with Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Michael R. Rose. The first post is What Does the Rise of Fantasy Mean? [via Locus Online] Rick Kleffel interviews John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War and the upcoming sequel The Ghost Brigades. Continue Reading →

Crowd funding is the in thing for obtaining money to fund a variety of projects, with Kickstarter being the most prominent of these sites. With new projects going live daily, it's a chore to keep up with, let alone find, interesting genre projects. The Crowd Funding Roundup will be our effort to bring projects we think are interesting to your Continue Reading →

Some writers have gotten together and published an anthology whose proceeds will go to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The book, Writers for Relief edited by Davey Beauchamp, contains short stories, poems and essays by the likes of Gardner Dozois, Brian Aldiss, Larry Niven, Nancy Kress Joe Haldeman and others. The book is also directly from Lulu Press who offers Continue Reading →